Filter



.Aug.24,1943. 1mm, l 2,327,803

FILTER Filed Dec. 9, 194C l K 4 N N W /f 54a. e3 @Z X Km /Nz/ENTOR )l k7* l kW/)f f5? JAMES M. MDD

BY I L L $7 )94 )77 j@ .4 01m/El Patented Aug. 24, 1943 4Eis Para .i/FILTER l j .JameS'MJ-Kidd, Birmingham; Ala. Appl'ioatoniecemher 9, 1940; Serial-No; 369,175

' .z-'Ciaims (Ci. 210%185.)

to fthe handling and treating of'einilkffproductsf are extremely rigid;A all equipment used in ldairy and Vcrearnerywork; and especially iltersonust be Very carefully designed so as to make 'them capable or being easily cleaned. At Ithe same time,r dairy `and creaineryf i filters y must '.-be pr-ac# tically 100% -eicient so asnot topermi-t passage of any foreign matter into theriltere'dproductV My invention contemplates;Wherefore, faiilter provided `with, a series Lof superpdsed plates bean disassembled for cleaning; -all` of vfthe,partsbeing free` of any attachment to thelilter casing itself.

v`My `invention@further contemplates" the -provisionV of a' filter-.Which embodiesma pluralityof hasy associated therewith a spacer ringfwhichis adapted on its 'top' side Vto 1 receive Lthe-:plateI with a iiush, smoothv t. "On -topoeachperforated plate I place a sheet of vlter material vvlfiich` en-V tirelycovers theplate, rand which maybe either wire-orlcloth, lbut preerablythe latter. A

"The lowermost spacer ring fis providedrwth a pair of upstanding pins, each o'f'whichhas a small hole near its top.' A'The-other rings areA providedwith holes through which 'the -pins pass so that they may be dropped' into-placefand thus rest on Ithe lowermost ringfand servein thisv man-'ner to'hold the 'filter cloths-inplace, because each of the ringsvrests (inthe` marginal edgefof the cloth hex-t belovr it. f'The marginal edges 'of-each of-the nlter cloths arethus pressed down on the perforated plateswith asubstanfV tially leakfpro'ott so'that all of-the liquid to beiltered'passes'throughJ all 'of the filter cloths.

.:The liquid to be filtered is suppliedunder pressure through the 'top `fopening', and "thepressure thusapplied and Valso theV hydrostatic-head of the liquid within Athe iilterl casing -serve to press Athe filter "cloths yagainst the rings andthel persuper-posedperforatedplates;l each nP-whic-hhasj forated plates, 'and also serve` to press the lowera spacer ring associated?therewith-on which plateis `placed-l a l sheet of`v 'iltery medium- #such as Icloth or 5the like,- `vand =in "which the cloth -is adapted; to be heldf-downatf its marginby the 130 is illustrated in the accompanying drawingforinneX-tfsuperjacent ring.

invention contemplates the provision fuffa filter Acasing vivhichis provided, adjacent its-hottom, iwith'- aseat' for' receivingthe-'lowermost of said series of lter -p'latesfin which' the vseat' is smooth and 'therefiore'ea'si-ly cleaned, Vland-which' isadap'tedto be iengaged--withsa-leak-proof int, thus oloviatingthe necessity of providing mechanical means to secure the lter plates to theseat or other part of theiiltercasing. My invention :further-.contemplates the-provision orafa/Tten asabove-'idesciibed which has means: secured` totheflowermo'st ring or sa-idse ries Afof fiilter.'` plates i lay-Which the wholet series Y of'plates .may be removed from-'fthe'ilter casi-ng by a simple liftingfoperationL and- Withont-the necessity or looseningl any-screws; nutsypr bolts to release theiplatesffrom theca'sing.

Briefly, myinvention-.fcomprises a lfilter casing having a ymovable cover,r 'an .inlet'neari the ftop for the liquidftobe filtered,l and anoutletnear the bottom for the nitrate. Near the-bottom of the .casing I provide-a relatively wide,lsmooth shoulder; which'y .isadapted to forma: seat `for the'. lowermo-stsof; aseries of iiilter'plates. `-In their preferred form: eachi of.-f'these' filter fplates most ring firmly into Vleak-proof engagement with the -fseat Vprovided atv the bottom -ofv the filter casing. i

Apparatus embodying features `ofniy invention ing a part of this-application; in which Fig.l 1' is a side elevational viewypartly in section;v

Fig. 2 is a planview, partly in section;

f Fig. r3 isv an enlarged fragmentalsectional view of two of the superposed lter rings; vand Fig. 4 is a fragmentalsectionalviewf'of a' rnodi edform--of-*my invention. l f

Referring to the drawingv ior better `under- 407v standing of my invention, 'the' Ydevice embodies a lter Vcasing ;|`U which is 'formed preferably by l altop ring H. anda bottom'ring IZJoinedtogether byarelativelywthin `n'iegtal. sheet i3, it

45 `being understoodthat allpartsfcomingmin contact with .the ,milk- .aremade of stainless, steel or. other non-corrosivematerial. It will be noted that-the-bottom ring ,l2 is.` grooved out, .as at MQ sothat the vsheet I3 tstherein toiiorm afan-ug Yogjoint. Y Likewise; the toprring `l i is provided-.With

surfa'ce L'The sheet ISfmay 'bev ,secured to the 's S55 ,fring's :il and l2; by means ofih'ardzsolder, Welding;

or in any other suitable manner by which a smooth joint is made.

The casing is provided with a movable cover I1 adapted to fit snugly against a gasket I8, which is seated in a groove I9 formed in the ring II. The ring II is provided with a series of pairs of ears 2| for receiving bolts 22, which are adapted to swingr about their pivots 23 and engage in notches 24 provided in the top I1. Wing nuts 25 serve to clamp the top I1 rigidly in place on the gasket I8.

The cover I1 is provided at one edge with hinge members 26 adapted to fit over a complemental hinge member 21 carried by the ring Il.

A through bolt 28 passes loosely through the members 26 and 21, thus permitting the top to have alimited amount of play so that when the wing nuts 25 on the bolts 22 are run down, the cover will seat itself equally on the whole surface of the gasket I8. The member 21 is provided with a stop 29 adapted, whenthe cover is raised, to engage a complemental stop 3l, thus to provide a rest member for the cover I1 when in open position. Y

-The bottom ring I2 is provided inwardly of the filter casing I0 with a relatively wide, smoothv shoulder 32, which shoulder isadapted yto receive, with a leak-proof nt, the bottom ring 33 of the series ofiilter plates 34; Each of these filter plates has securedthereto a ring. 33, which latter is grooved out as at 3B (see Fig. 3) to receive its Vassociated plate flush with the `top side of the ring33. l. A sheet of iilter` material 31 is detachably carried by eachv of the plates 34, and is held in place thereon at its marginal edges by the-weight of the next superjacent .ring 33. These lter cloths -31 are simply laid over kthe plates 34, and the next ring 33 and plate 34 are placedthereon, and so on until the desired number ofgplates and lter cloths are in place for the typeof liquid beingiilteIed.

Made fast to the bottom ring 33, as by welding orother suitable means, are a pair of diametrically opposed upstanding pins 38, and each of the rings 33 and plates 34 above the lowermost ring 33, has drilled therein holes 39, sov that the superjacent ringsl and plates may be 'simply droppedover the pins 38 to rest on the lowerthe time it would otherwise likely occur.

most ring 33. The openings 39 are suiciently large to permit-ready assembly and removal o the superjacent rings, andit will be notedthat the whole series Ofrings and plates may be removed `from the filter by engaging a suitable tool k(not shown)l in a small hole 4| provided near the top of the-pinsi. It will thus be seenthat when the series of lter plates are removed from the filter casing, they-may be readily disassembled for'cleaning, and the. cloths'V 31 may be Yre- `moved by simply lifting each succeeding 4ring I0 .is provided with an opening 43 for the discharge of the ltered liquid. Air trapped in the casing for anyreason may be released by means of a pet cock in the top of the casing.

The operation of myimproved filter is as follows'. iThe assembly of filter plates 34 with `their associated filter cloths are placed on the shoulder 32, the top l1 is pressed rmly into engagement with the gasket I8 by means of the wing nuts 25, and the liquid to be filtered is forced under pressure through the opening 42, thus lling the interior of the lter casing I0. The pressure and the hydrostatic head of the liquid in the casing Ill serve to hold the lter cloths 31v nrmly in engagement with the perforated plates 34, and likewise the pressure and hydrostatic v head serve to press the ring 33 .of the lowermost,

-' Hcome clogged and the internal pressure within the casing increases, the sealing pressure increases also, thus insuring against leakage during wise, as the internal pressure increases the lowermost ring 33 is pressed more rn'ily against the seat 32 -so that no leakage voccurs at that point. The margins of the filter cloths-between the rings and the plates servefas gaskets to prevent leakage between plates and rings.v f All of the liquid to be filtered passes with a fluid tight t, thus making it easier for the liquid tor pass throughthe cloths than between theplates and the several adjacent rings.` In lactual operationl-have found that my iinprovedlter -aifords a most' efficient lfiltering of the liquid.Y v

When il? is desired for cleaning,-the wing nuts 25 are unscrewed, the

coveris raised -by means of the handle'46, and

and thata simple lifting operation is' all that r :necessary -to remove the filter plates fromy the L45, casing. j The rings-33 with their plates 34 may now be lifted olf separately-and the cloths. 31

inaybe removediforwashing :or replacement.

In Fig. 4 1 show a somewhatmodied formof my'invention.- `The `filter rcasing 41 is formed;A vby an angle shaped bottom vring 48 and a Vplain top ring 49 joined by a plate 5I. The ,top ring 49'carries a gasket52, countersunk into a groove 53, 'against which the -top 54 is adapted, to rest.. v

The bottom ring 43 carries ears 5S to which are pivotally mounted relatively long bolts 51 which Y pass through slots 53 in the top 54. Wing nuts 59 are-provided to gasket 52.`

The bottom of this modication of'my inventionis formedby a separate plate 5I which may be spunto the'desiredgshapand secured to; A.An annular ring 62 issoldered or 1 the ring43. welded tothe bottom plate 6I andthe side plate 5l, and forms a seat 63, similar to 32,.for receiving the superposed filter plates 64.'

As seen, the superposedplates 64'are"spaced apart by rings S6 which arenotjattached to the plates, and the filter cloths 61 t under the rings and are pressed down to forma leak-proof joint, l ost plate 64.

as already explained.I The 'lowerm rests directly on the seatlS;4 f

vided With'holes B9 for receiving the pins, s theymay be dropped into place.

Likej through..` all of the lter cloths 31, the'rings 33 pressing firmly on the marginal edges of the iilter` clothsto remove the filter plates l oies #iL-in' the pins press the top firmly on the The operation of this modification of my invention is substantially the same as hereinbefore described. It will be noted, however, that all parts of the filtering elements Aare separable and are therefore even more easily cleaned than those shown in Figs. l to 3.

In the actual operation of iilters built in accordanc'e with my present invention, I have found them to be extremely efficient, durable, and, most important of all, I have found that they are capable of easy cleaning. Because ofY the fact that the filter plates themselves are not mechanically attached to any part of the lter casing, all parts thereof, including the rings, as well as the cloths themselves, may be easily removed from the lter casing and disassembled and readily cleaned.

While I have shown my invention in but two forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specically set forth in the'appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Ina pressure filter, a filter casing having an upper inlet and a bottom outlet for the filtrate, a movable cover for the casing, a series of superposed perforated plates in the casing in spaced relation with the marginal walls thereof, spacer rings between the plates around the outer edges thereof, a sheet of filter cloth over each of the plates, said plates and filter cloth being free of mechanical engagement with each other, the marginal edges of the lilter cloths being held in leak-proof engagement on the plates by the weight of the plates and rings above, a seat in the casing for receiving the lowermost of said rings with a leak-proof fit, and lifting pins secured to said lowerrnost ring and extending upwardly past the superposed rings and plates by means of which the whole series of filter plates may be lifted from the casing.

2\. In a pressure filter having an upper inlet and a bottom outlet for the filtrate, a series of independent perforated plates superposed on one another and free of mechanical attachment to one another, a spacer ring interposed between and extending marginally around adjacent plates, a sheet of lter cloth on top of each perforated plate and extending at its margin beneath the next superjacent spacer ring, the filter cloth of each of said filter plates being held in leakproof engagement on its plate by the weight of the rings andplates above it, lifting pins secured in the lowermost of said rings and passing loosely through the superposed rings and perforated plates, whereby the whole series of lter plates may be lifted from the casing, and a seat adjacent the bottom of the filter casing for receiving the lowermost of said filter plates with a leakl proof t. 

